God and Duo
by GuruMaji
Summary: Duo has questions about..you know who.


  
  
  
  
  
God and Duo   
  
  
  
  
" Is there more than one God, Miz Garcia ?" He first  
asked me .  
  
" I beg your pardon ?"  
  
"Is there more than one God?" he repeated. "From what  
I've learned in history class, there are at least 4  
that were mentioned. According to the book, The  
Muslims have their Allah, some sect has this Jehova  
and the others--"  
  
" I got your point, Duo. " I took a moment to  
formulate my answer . " There is only one ( as far as  
I can recall and figured out ).The people you have  
mentioned also worship the same god as of ours. They  
just call Him in another name."  
  
" Why?" came his next question.  
  
Great. How am I supposed to answer that ? Okay let me  
try this track......" Its like this - to you, you call  
me Miss Garcia, the other teachers call me 'Winnie ' (  
Winona is my real name, get it ? ) and the younger  
children know me as Teacher Winnie. Even though all of  
you call me in different names, you are all referring  
to only one person, which is ME. I guess, you call me  
by a name that makes you feel comfortable with me.  
It makes me look good in your eyes, more  
approachable. " ( I know its a lousy one, but that's  
the only thing I can think of at that time and  
besides, I'm not a Religion teacher either.)  
  
"Oh. I see. " Was his only reply.   
  
I sighed in relief, I feared he wouldn't be satisfied  
with it . Answering his questions is like taking an  
entrance test. The simpler the question, the harder to  
interpret it. (Quite a paradox, isn't it ? But in my  
opinion there is no silly or easy question for a  
child. What ever question he has reflects his mindset  
and his outlook on the world around him . )  
  
His third question raised a brow. " What does your God  
look like?"   
  
That caught me unawares. I had a sneaking suspicion  
his questioning is a lot more than it seems. So  
carefully , I probed him ," Why are you asking? I  
thought Father Maxwell and Sister Helen already told  
you that?"  
  
His answer is simple ." They explained it very well. I  
just want to know if their picture of what God is also  
the same thing with other people. Ordinary people like  
you."  
  
Is it ?   
  
Hmmm. I have to ponder that for a while before I took  
him on. My eyes darting from the open door just in  
case someone was hovering near it. ( You can never  
tell if someone is eavesdropping in . I cannot  
understand why gossip is so commonplace around here )   
  
A tug on my sleeve broke my checking for eavers (short  
for eavesdroppers ) .   
  
"Well ?" he persisted.   
  
/ He can sometimes be annoying if he wanted to . (memo  
to me - ask Father Maxwell for some tips on how to  
handle a pesky Duo ) /  
  
" Okay, okay." I shrugged him off lest he tore my  
sleeve from his constant tugging." Before I answer  
your  
question, tell me first what God is to you . "   
  
" According to Father Maxwell and Sister Helen's ?"   
  
I shook my head. "No Duo, according to you."  
  
That made him silent . ( He is in his thinking mode  
). Getting his opinion in such delicate matters is  
important to me as air and water. That's the reason I  
know what's inside his skull better than the  
psychiatrists or guidance counselors around this  
school.  
  
After a minute or two, he spoke up- in a resigned,  
confused voice ."I don't know what God is yet."  
  
I was speechless. I've never heard that tone before .I  
looked at him more closely this time. Gone was the  
smart aleck kid that I know of. This boy before me  
looked so insecure and afraid. What happened to him  
before that created this sudden change ? I am now  
starting to regret this .  
  
Before I can say anything else, he walked away from me  
and went to the window, making sure to hide his face  
from my probing. "Before, before I was found and taken  
in , I didn't know that there is a God. When Father  
Maxwell started telling me about HIM- I couldn't  
accept it, couldn't even believe it. He said that God  
is kind and makes people happy. Then why did HE took   
Solo away from me ? He's my only friend .He was the  
only one who protected me from the other gangs and  
kept me warm . He can make me laugh when I'm sad and  
lonely at times.  
When I said that to Father Maxwell, He just smiled at  
me and said something which made me think more about  
what God is. He said 'Whatever God does, there is  
always a good reason behind it and its for the welfare  
of the person  
concerned.' I've also talked to Sister about it and  
its the same thing with her . "   
  
He stood there for a moment, then continued on, "  
That's why I need your answer, Miz Garcia. I want to  
believe them but, but...they're with the church and  
they're working for HIM so I needed someone -someone  
whose not "closely related" to HIM or "serving Him"  
to tell me what HE really is. Like you"  
  
This revelation somehow affected me in some way, made  
me closer to him than before. I couldn't put it into  
words yet how I feel right now, but I know that this  
will be one more reason why I stuck up with him  
through out this school year.   
  
I came to him and patted his head affectionately. I  
don't know if my answer will be a good thing, but  
I've got a hunch it will be . So I plunged on, not  
looking at him. " My God is the same of your  
guardians, Duo, but a little bit more. My God is all  
knowing-HE knows each one of us intimately and the way  
we think of our selves. HE is also compassionate. If   
HE feels our pain and sadness , HE comforts us to the  
best that HE can . HE's the Great Helper-helping us  
with our burdens and troubles ,making it easier for us  
to bear . And lastly, HE's the best Listener in the  
whole universe. HE never gets bored to whatever you  
say to HIM and HE has the time to listen to all of us  
without getting impatient or mad . "   
  
  
I faced him again .Looking for a sign that he  
understood what I was trying to tell him.   
  
Nothing.  
  
Last attempt. If this doesn't work, I don't know what  
I'll do next..." Father Maxwell told you that   
whatever God does, there is always a good reason  
behind it .You told me that HE took Solo from you (  
I'm suspecting this Solo kid is dead already ) .  
Okay, I'd be the first one to admit I don't know  
God's thinking or why HE took your friend away from  
you, but I am sure of one thing, Duo, if Solo didn't  
die, you will not be taken in by the Maxwell Church .  
You'll still be living on the streets ,cold and always  
on the run ( from what, only God knows ). HE doesn't  
want that to happen because HE loves you and HE knows  
that you deserve more of life, so HE gave you "them  
-Father Maxwell and Sister Helen " as a replacement  
for Solo ( Damn ! Did I said that correctly ??!! ) .  
HE thinks that they can provide you something better   
than just food and a roof . HE gave you a family ."   
( I'm stretching it and I am running out of words,  
but I have to try something ).   
  
I looked at him again to see if any of my babbling  
sank in. What I saw made me cry in relief.  
  
The Duo I know of is back. And his smiling again.  
  
He finally got it. He UNDERSTOOD .  
  
" Thank you. Miz Garcia. You don't know how much your  
answer means to me." He reached up and kiss me on  
the cheek.   
  
And like the whirlwind that he is, he was gone from  
the room in a minute .  
  
I was about to congratulate myself for doing a fine  
job on Duo when I was startled by a whistle coming  
from the school proctor .  
  
Then belatedly, I remembered something very important  
.   
  
I forgot to inform Duo that he still have 30 minutes  
of detention time left.  
  
~~~end~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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